http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Professors-Burch/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Professors Burch en-us Fri, 25 Dec 2009 17:48:28 +0000 Fri, 25 Dec 2009 17:48:28 +0000 WASHINGTON D.C.July 29 August 4 2009 It had been over twentyfive years since we spent any time in DC so we were really looking forward to our trip. However we never guessed we would enjoy it so immensely and consider it to be one of our favorite vacations. Itrsquos the best city in the world for a ldquofun educationrdquo and it makes history daily We flew into Reagan National Airp http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/District-of-Columbia/Washington/blog-429252.html LONDON May 2009 There is a reason that London continues to be one of the top tourist destinations in the world With all of the history culture entertainment shopping royalty and just allaround ambiance it is difficult to top London. This was our third trip to this spectacular city however the first two were brief and a long time ago so we were looking forward to having an entire wee http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Greater-London/blog-406318.html EASTERN CARIBBEAN CRUISE January 10 17 2009 Our first foray of 2009 was a delightful cruise on the Celebrity Summit to five islands in the eastern Caribbean St. MartinSt. Maarten Dominica Grenada Bonaire and Aruba. A fourhour firstclass Continental flight took us to San Juan Puerto Rico the departure port for the cruise. Early the next morning we arrived in St. MartinSt. M http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Aruba/Oranjestad/blog-391335.html New York City Four Days of Work and Play When I was given the opportunity to attend an international professional conference in New York City I jumped at the chance. Bill decided to ldquotagrdquo along and the two of us flew to JFK Airport on April 2 2008. There is no city in the world like New York and no better place to stay than the Hilton New York a sophisticated Manhattan hotel co http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/New-York/New-York/blog-375970.html CRUISING THE EASTERN DANUBE 2008 The perfect way to experience Eastern Europe is from the river that runs through it. The Danube River is one of the worldrsquos mightiest riversmdash1727 miles in length and over two miles wide in some areas. The secondlongest river in Europe it begins in Germanyrsquos Black Forest and meanders through Austria Hungary Serbia Croatia Bulgaria and Ro http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Hungary/blog-346013.html Catalina Island BirthdaySeptember 26 October 4 2007Warm memories and cherished experiences describe our visit to the west coast to celebrate Billrsquos 70th birthday with family and friends. Our trip began in Burbank with a visit with dear friend Martin whom we met on our African safari. Many famous people live in Burbank and Martin is acquainted with most of them as his veterinary pract http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/blog-282566.html ITALY Rome Florence Pisa Tuscany Venice...March 2008...Bella Italia Italy is a place that most people yearn to visit at some time in their lives and although Bill and I had visited Rome and Venice before we eagerly accompanied our friends Ed and Charlotte on their first visit to this rich exuberant culture. We wanted to travel with a spirit of adventure instead of having everything be http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/blog-278805.html 8night South America CruiseJanuary 2008It was winter in the States and a cruise in the southern hemisphere seemed inviting so we chose an 8night itinerary on Royal Caribbean Internationalrsquos Splendour of the Seas. Skirting the eastern coast of South America we visited Brazil Argentina and a tiny country tucked between those two massive neighbors Uruguay. A 10hour overnight flight http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/blog-240798.html In Search of the Big Five June 2007This unbelievable trip began long before we touched down in Kilimanjaro Airport Tanzania on June 15 2007. Getting ready for Africa was unlike anything else we have ever done in our travels because of the options available the decisions that had to be made and the preparations involved. First since we wanted to see as many wild animals as possible we c http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Tanzania/North/Mount-Kilimanjaro/blog-185913.html May 12 2007 We arrived in Baltimore late evening and took a cab to our downtown hotel the Sheraton City Centre. May 13 2007 We spent the morning and part of the afternoon exploring Baltimorersquos magnificent Inner Harbor which was within walking distance of our hotel. Our first stop was the USS Constellation the last allsail warship built by the US Navy and the only naval vessel active http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Bermuda/blog-164658.html 12NIGHT SCANDINAVIA RUSSIA CRUISEJune 1224 2003Our fabulous cruise to Scandinavia and Russia began on the evening of June 11 2003 with a direct overnight flight to London first class on Continental. Arriving at Gatwick around 7 a.m. we were met by a bus that took us the 2 hourdrive to the English port of Harwich where we arrived just as embarkation was beginning. The wellorganized http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Russia/blog-95834.html The Amazing Kingdom of ThailandMarch 1123 2003Our vacation in Thailand was a cultural sensual idyllic experience from beginning to end from Bangkok to the hill tribes from the Buddhist temples to the elephants. No other traveling experience matches exotic Thailand. Visiting is like entering another world of picturesque beauty natural charm fascinating history and lovingly preserved cust http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/blog-94866.html PARIS FRANCE August 18 2006Tuesday August 1 2006After spending the first part of our vacation in Dubai the hotelrsquos Lexus cab took us to the Dubai airport for our noon flight to Paris on Air France. We arrived around 5 p.m. and took a cab to our hotel the charming Grand Hotel Leveque in the heart of Rue Cler on the Left Bank. Rue Cler is a pedestrian cobblestone marketstreet r http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Ile-de-France/Paris/blog-91160.html May 26 2001Our early afternoon flight to Boston on Continental in first class was pleasant. We departed Boston on Icelandair promptly at 930 p.m. for our fivehour flight to Reykjavik. We had ample leg room in the exit row but the seats seemed more narrow than usual and there were no blanketsMay 27 2001Arriving at Keflavik Airport at 630 a.m. after only a couple of hoursrsquo sleep our http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Iceland/Southwest/Reykjavik/blog-89536.html DUBAI 2006Friday July 28 and Saturday July 29We departed from Houston on our 9hour overnight flight on a Continental 777 to Paris. Bill and I each got about 4 hours of sleep on the comfortable BusinessFirst Class seats that recline to nearly 180 degrees. Arriving at Charles deGaulle airport at 11 a.m. CDG did not impress us with its lack of signage confusion slowness general dirty su http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/United-Arab-Emirates/Dubai/blog-89344.html ALASKA CRUISE August 5 12 2005Bill Linda Ed CharlotteDay 1 FridayThe four of us left early in the morning for the airport arriving in plenty of time to enjoy an hour or so in the Presidentrsquos Club before boarding our Continental flight to Seattle. Unfortunately when we got to Seattle we discovered that our connecting flight to Anchorage on Air Alaska had been cancelled and that th http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Alaska/blog-16935.html GERMANY Plus Six Driving Trip May 20 31 2005Day 1 May 20 2005 FridayWe relaxed in the Presidentrsquos Club lounge before boarding our 115 p.m. flight on a Continental 777 to Frankfurt via Newark. Our BusinessFirst Class accommodations were comfortable and the food service were topnotch. The luxury seats featured a variety of position controls and individual monitors for dozens of http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Germany/Hessen/Frankfurt/blog-15290.html WESTERN CARIBBEAN ldquoTEXARIBBEANrdquo CRUISEJune 25 July 2 2005Saturday June 25 2005Seven of us boarded the NCL Sea at the Barbourrsquos Cut terminal just outside of Houston for our 7day western Caribbean cruise Linda Bill Mama Brian Christy Lisa and Eric. The boarding process was smooth and efficient and we were in our staterooms by 3 p.m. readying for the mandatory lifeb http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Honduras/Bay-Islands/Utila/blog-13981.html WEST COAST WHIRLWINDSpring Break March 11 20 2005We had a marvelous but whirlwind trip to California and Oregon during spring break First we spent three and a half days with Bill and Shirley and our handsome grandsons enjoying their gorgeous new landscaping several meals at the Club touring the Battleship Midway in San Diego taking the boys for haircuts and a movie going to Mass touri http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/San-Diego/blog-14110.html Exploring Costa RicaDecember 29 2004 January 3 2005Day 1We relaxed in the Presidentrsquos Club at IAH before our 3hour first class flight on Continental to San Jose Costa Rica arriving midafternoon. San Jose is considered the most cosmopolitan city in Central America and indeed is one of the most beautifully situated capitals in all of the Americas nestled in the fertile ldquoValle C http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/San-Jose/blog-14017.html